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General Question

Why Redesign?

“The 1990s were designated by Congress as the “Decade of the Brain.” Yet more than a full decade after this era of discovery in brain research, our schools look remarkably similar to the schools of the 1950s.” Heather T. Forbes, LCSW “Help for Billy” 2012

Kansas has had 2 models of schools:

*1 room schools

*factory model (grades, class periods, bells)

*We no longer need to create factoring workers, let’s create a new system that will meet the future needs of our students.

Kansas data:

Currently, 86% of Kansas students graduate from high school

69% enroll in post secondary training/school

31% complete post secondary training

Kansas needs 71% of workers to have a post secondary certificate or degree. 36% need a bachelor degree or higher. 35% need a certificate or associate degree.

In a statewide tour, business and industry owners across Kansas stated that they wanted to see an increase in non-academic, or soft skills.

Did you know?

*In the fall of 2017 a truck went driverless from Denver to Ft. Collins. According to the American Trucker Association, there are 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the US, and an additional 5.2 million people employed within the truck-driving industry who don't drive the trucks. That's 8.7 million trucking-related jobs.

*We can go to the doctor online if we need to.

*Blockbuster had the opportunity to buy Netflix…

*Amazon – drone deliveries? Kansas may be the first state to make this happen.

We live in an ever changing world. Our kids need to be adaptable. The top three skills they need to develop are: communication, collaboration and problem solving.

Who is creating the redesign plan?

The Building Leadership Team meets bi-weekly with KSDE redesign specialists, Tammy Mitchell and Jay Scott.

All staff have been actively involved in the redesign process through weekly research and action teams. Students in grades 6-12 have provided staff with valuable feedback as well.

Is this a top down push from KSDE or administration?

No! We get to redesign our schools based on the needs of our students and community. Research teams have worked long and hard to choose measures that will help our students achieve academic success, emotional intelligence, and TIGER readiness.

Where did you get your research?

Professional journals and websites were used included, but not limited to: